Adventure Time
by chopper-marrow
Summary: Everything started because of one unfortunate happening, in which baby Tsunayoshi managed to climb over his baby crib, only to fall on his head. Fortunately, the fall hadn't been hard enough to cause any kind of severe brain damage or injury. Unfortunately, it did cause him to have a few loose screws.
1. Chapter 1

For those who followed me and expected Unbound: Whoops?

This fic is un-beta-ed, just to let you know. Please excuse any kinds of grammar mistakes and typos.

Anyway, enjoy the ride!

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.

 **.:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:.**

 _Chapter 1: In which it all began_

Wherein Sawada Iemitsu, Young Lion of Vongola, met Nana, a perfectly normal civilian. They fell in love, dated, and married, just like how it goes in a story we all know.

What's different was, this Iemitsu had the right mind to know that it would be more dangerous to leave Nana in the dark than let her know. So before he proposed, he had told her about his line of work.

This Nana, like the other one, loved Iemitsu very much. Also like her counterpart, she was an easygoing person. So all she said after that was, "That's great, honey! You should invite your boss for dinner sometime."

Iemitsu had thought that she didn't get it at first, but Nana quickly interjected him. She fully understood the situation, and she was fine with it. It was as simple as that.

So even knowing the dangers that could come to her and their future children, she accepted him with open arms.

It was a small marriage. Just him, her, and the priest as their witness. They didn't want to attract any kind of attention, after all.

Then Nana got pregnant, and Iemitsu had to return back to Italy. Iemitsu had been incredibly reluctant, but Nana had honest to god understood. She didn't act as if he was going away forever. She acted as if he was just going to work in the morning and would return soon later in the evening. Although the actual time frame wouldn't be as short as that.

She would miss him, and she and their child would be waiting for him to come home.

After Iemitsu had left, she hid several firearms all around the house, as per Iemitsu's suggestion to always have something to defend with, just in case. She had learned how to shoot correctly by going to the local firing range.

People had asked why she wanted to learn how to shoot, she just said that it looked interesting.

She also continued to trust her intuition. Up until that moment in her life, her intuition had never failed her, and she doubted it ever would. Because her intuition said so.

And so after a while, she gave birth. Iemitsu had known but was unable to fly back to Japan. He had expected hatred coming from his wife, but all he heard was a voice of genuine acceptance and happiness.

"I want my husband to do the best for his Family so that when he returns to us he would come with an air of satisfaction on him. Come back soon, darling, and don't forget to stay safe! Tsu-kun and I will be waiting."

Iemitsu had gotten the drive to do his best at work. He was careful to never spill information back home anywhere in his workplace. Most who knew him hadn't even known he had a wife, never mind a son. The ones who knew were a handful, and only one of them knew the names of said persons.

 **.:-Chapter 01-** :.

Everything started because of one unfortunate happening, in which baby Tsunayoshi managed to climb over his baby crib, only to fall on his head. He cried, of course, which alarmed his kaa-chan who had been cooking in the kitchen and made her come running to the room. When she saw her son laying on the ground, she panicked and went straight to the hospital.

Fortunately, the fall hadn't been hard enough to cause any kind of severe brain damage or injury.

Unfortunately, unknown to both the doctor and Sawada Nana, it did cause him to have a few loose screws.

Later on in life, anyone who knows Sawada Tsunayoshi well enough would know to keep their eyes on him, either out of amusement or concern. Because he would always end up in the most ridiculous situations ever.

And the worst part was, no one could stop him. Because he liked adventures and nothing could prevent him from having one. Or several.

Not only that, he also had the devil's luck on his side. So it's not even worth the try.

 **.:-Chapter 01-** :.

 _One Year Old_

Tsuna watched the television, uncomprehending because he's still a baby, as his kaa-chan talked to her friend on the phone. The television was airing a western movie called Baby's Day Out. Although he didn't understand what was being said on the television, his one-year-old brain did notice something; the baby's adventure looked fun. Tsuna liked fun. So Tsuna liked adventure.

Tsuna wanted to go on an adventure!

He crawled around the house trying to find an exit to start his adventure. Unfortunately, the doors were always closed, the windows were too high up, and there were no weird-looking men to help him out.

When he finally found an opening, his kaa-chan had found him and proceeded to carry him to his crib for his nap. He had forgotten about his mission when he woke up later on until he was taken to the park by his kaa-chan to play.

Of course, at first, it wasn't intended to be that way.

He had been dutifully playing in the sandbox when a butterfly flew in front of him. Attracted by its pretty color, he had naturally crawled after it. Nana had been busy listening to a fellow mother giving tips about taking care of a one-year-old baby and thus was unaware of Tsuna crawling off somewhere.

Tsuna was a fast crawler, and he was proud of that, but apparently, the butterfly had been faster than him, and he soon lost sight of it. He pouted for a while before he realized that he couldn't find his kaa-chan anywhere.

Any other child would've cried at this point, but not Tsuna. His kaa-chan wasn't there to prevent him from going on an adventure! Not wanting to waste any moment, he continued to crawl.

Where? He didn't know and didn't need to know. As long as it's fun, then anything is fine!

Not far from Tsuna's general location, one man, dark brown haired with equally dark brown eyes, was fighting against a group of four men. You'd thought the one man would be at a disadvantage, but no. It was the group that had difficulty keeping up with the man.

The man delivered blows with his weapon of choice, a pair of metallic tonfas, quickly and efficiently, leaving no openings for the group to exploit. While the group scrambled around attempting to land a hit on the man, only to fail miserably and were forced to either avoid or block the man's swift counter, which they also failed to do most of the time.

The man's momentum, however, was broken when he tripped over something that wasn't supposed to be there.

Several things happened all at once.

One, a baby squealed from being tripped on.

Two, the man fell to the ground.

Three, a bullet passed through where the man's head had been a moment ago.

The man was surprised, but quickly put two and two together and concluded that there was a hidden fifth person on the group's side.

The four, who were distracted by the unexpected turn of events, gave enough openings for the man to get back on his feet and knock them all unconscious.

He heard a curse and some rustling coming from somewhere on his left and didn't even bother running up to the man. Instead, he threw one of his tonfas accurately enough to hit the fifth person right at the back of his head.

After making sure that the five men were really unconscious, he piled them up and sat on top of them. He sure loved beating wrongdoers up, but he hated cleaning up the mess.

That's what his subordinates are for, after all. So he called them to do the cleanup. His subordinates complained, but it's not as if they could do anything about it.

While waiting for them to arrive, he finally remembered the anomaly in his fight earlier. The squeal of a baby.

Just as he thought so, another squeal erupted, this time of delight.

The man turned his head to the side to see an infant, a year old at most, staring at him with glee in his brown eyes and a grin.

The man had a certain weakness towards children, so his first reaction upon catching sight of the adorable baby was to quickly come to him, pick him up, and coo.

"Aww, hey there little baby. What are you doing here? Where's your okaa-san?" he asked with a soft voice.

Little Tsunayoshi didn't exactly understand what the man was saying, but he did understand that the man had mentioned his kaa-chan. So Tsuna replied, "Kaa!" with some difficulty.

The man thought that the baby's attempt at saying 'kaa-chan' was simply precious. It reminded him of his son's first attempt at calling out to him...

Back to the topic at hand though, how did a baby manage to crawl himself all the way here, in the middle of the forest?

Now that he thought about it, this forest was quite near the park. Moreover, at this time of the day mothers usually visit said park to let their children play and socialize (more like gossip) with each other.

That settles it. He's going to return the baby to his mother.

He began walking to the park, leaving the pile of men behind. His subordinates would arrive soon to clean them up. Besides, those men won't wake up anytime soon, he made sure of it.

 **.:-Chapter 01-** :.

Tsuna was excited. When he started his adventure, he saw some weird men playing with each other, but then a lot of them took a nap and only one weird man was left awake. Then the one weird man carried him and started to walk somewhere.

He didn't remember how the adventure started for the baby in the TV, but he thought maybe this was it! This was the start of his very own adventure!

They didn't make it very far though. Several other men, wearing similar clothing like the one the weird man that had picked him up wore, came up to them and saluted.

"Officer Takahashi and company, reporting for duty, sir!" one of them exclaimed loudly. The man was loud, Tsuna showed his disapproval by covering his ears with his hands.

The weird man shifted Tsuna so he could hold him with one hand and saluted back briefly with the other, before putting his hand down again. The newcomers followed.

"Takahashi, stay. The rest, you know what to do," said the weird man, making a shoo-ing gesture.

They then got into motion. Takahashi's company, Officers Yamada and Saitou, proceeded to go to where the pile of unconscious men was, unfazed. While Takahashi stayed in front of the weird man.

"So, did you figure out who these people are?"

Takahashi nodded, "We found out that those men are members of the newly built yakuza gang, the Momokyoukai-gumi. But the boss had firmly stated that he had not ordered anything that would disrupt the peace, heavily implying that these thugs were acting on their own accord..."

The newcomer kept on talking about stuff Tsuna didn't understand, and that got him bored. He was going to go on an adventure with the weird man! Why did this newcomer have to stop them?

The newcomer then took out some papers from his bag and gave it to the weird man. Tsuna was getting restless, so he wriggled from his spot on the weird man's hold.

The man couldn't concentrate on the documents with the little baby wriggling on his hands, so he sat the baby down on the conveniently placed rock that was near him.

Deciding the weird man wouldn't be helping him anytime soon, Tsuna crawled away. Maybe the other weird men could help him.

He crawled to where the other weird men had been napping and saw that the other newcomer and the other-other newcomer were carrying them away one by one, like a sack of potatoes, to somewhere.

They couldn't do that! Those napping men were going to help him go on an adventure!

By some miracle, little Tsunayoshi managed to hold on to one of the unconscious men's arm and dangle there, unknowingly carried to where the other men had been carried to. A pickup truck.

Officer Yamada carefully put down the last of the unconscious men on the pickup truck, unaware of the addition of a certain baby. All the men had been deposited to the back of the truck. His duty now was driving said men to the hospital while Saitou reported to Chief Hibari.

So he settled himself on the driver's seat, turned on the music player to full volume, and started driving.

Meanwhile the weird man, now known as Chief Hibari, finally finished listening to his subordinates' reports. It was a drag, but it's his job, so he had to deal with it. Now he could finally go and take the cute baby to the park to look for his okaa-san.

Only, when he turned around, the baby was no longer where he left him.

Then he heard the sound of a vehicle driving away and a baby's laugh accompanying it. He, along with Saitou and Takahashi, turned to the source of the sound and felt the blood drain from his face as he saw the baby from before standing on the back of a moving truck.

He cursed. He realized that the truck was the one which was taking the unconscious men he had beaten up to the hospital.

"Yamada!" he called out in vain. Yamada had started his bad habit of turning the volume to its maximum limit again. Yamada was going to get an earful after this.

He ran after the truck but evidently, the truck was faster.

Takahashi had tried calling Yamada's phone. Unfortunately, Yamada's phone had been in airplane mode to save battery, since it was quite low on them.

Remember kids, don't put your phone on airplane mode when you're on duty.

Meanwhile, Yamada was enjoying the music, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel to the rhythm, while little Tsuna was enjoying the ride on the back of the truck.

But then the truck stopped because of the traffic light. Tsuna pouted. The breeze had been cool, but now that they stopped it felt too warm.

Tsuna was getting bored of waiting for the truck to go again when a car pulled up next to it. The backseat window was open and inside...

Inside was a box of stuffed animals!

That was more interesting than standing on the truck doing nothing, so he made to switch rides. The car was close enough for him to lean in a little and fall into it.

"Omph!" thankfully, the car seat had cushioned his fall, so it didn't hurt much.

The woman who was driving the car noticed the sound. She checked the mirror but found nothing out of the ordinary, except for the open backseat window. Which she didn't know was open before. So she closed it up.

The woman didn't see little Tsuna through the mirror because he was hidden behind the passenger's seat next to the driver's seat. And for the rest of the ride, he kept sitting there, playing with the stuffed lion quietly.

Eventually, the car came to a stop. The woman got down from the car and went to open the backseat door to get the box with the stuffed animals. She didn't notice little Tsuna from the outside because the window tint was quite dark.

She opened the door, but before it opened fully her friend called out to her.

The woman and her friend ended up talking to each other. None of them noticed as little Tsuna got down from the car and crawled away, taking the stuffed lion with him.

Tsuna kept crawling until he felt tired. He wanted to rest but didn't want to stop outside since it was hot. So he went to the nearest building which had its doors open; the police station.

In the busy lobby, no one noticed him. He climbed onto an empty seat and took a nap on the chair.

After a while, Chief Hibari walked into the station. The baby wasn't on the truck when he caught up with it, using his motorcycle. He had given Yamada an earful about his bad driving habit before backtracking to the forest again, but no lost baby in sight. God, he really hoped the boy hadn't fallen off the truck and got-

Was that the baby who was sleeping on one of the guest seats in the station's lobby?

It was.

He hurriedly walked to the baby and gently carried him. He didn't look hurt, though his hands and knees were dirty, along with the stuffed lion he had with him. Probably because he was crawling around on the ground.

He sighed in relief. The boy was safe.

But then he remembered something which made him frown. The baby had been wandering around for at least an hour now. His mother was probably worried sick looking for him.

He walked to the receptionist with the baby in hand. Maybe the baby's mother had filed in a missing child report. But no such thing happened. He didn't know the baby's name, so he couldn't look up any family information either.

Guess he had no choice but to go to the park to see if the mother was still there.

 **.:-Chapter 01-** :.

Which she was.

How did he recognize her? Because her son didn't look much different from her. Although she had a darker shade of brown hair, her brown eyes and delicate features were the same as the ones owned by the baby in his hands.

Honestly, he wouldn't have noticed her, since she looked like the average woman; if it weren't for the fact that she was talking to his sunshine, his queen, the love of his life-

"I know what you are thinking, Tatsuya-san. Cease that immediately," her voice was sharp, reprimanding, but more in an amused tone than a disapproving one.

His wife sat on a bench next to the woman he had been looking for. She stood out from the other mothers accompanying their children. She was wearing a dark blue kimono with a floral pattern along with a red and gold sash. Her long black hair was up in a bun, a red and gold hair ornament hanging on her hair to match her obi, and her steel grey eyes stared at him, or more like the baby on his hands, in a questioning manner.

"Ah! So you're Mikoto-chan's husband! It's very nice to meet you, Hibari-san. My name is Sawada Nana, but just call me Nana." The woman stood up and bowed.

How women who just met can bond so quickly, he had no idea. Nevertheless, Hibari Tatsuya was happy to see his wife socializing, so he bowed back.

"You can call me Tatsuya if you want. And yes, it's nice to meet you too. Sorry to interrupt your conversation, but is this your child, by any chance?" Tatsuya showed her the baby in his arms. Nana brightened up.

"Yes! Aw, look at him, sleeping peacefully. Thank you for picking him up, Tatsuya-san," Nana gently took little Tsuna from him.

"Were you aware that your child had been wandering around alone, unattended?" He raised an eyebrow.

Nana just smiled easily, "Well, I did notice that he was no longer in the sandbox, but it was hardly anything to worry about."

Tatsuya frowned, "Aren't you a bit too flippant about this matter, Nana-san? Your son had gone missing and you weren't worried at all?"

Then she sighed, looking as if he was the one who didn't understand the situation, "Tatsuya-san, I wouldn't have brought him out of the house at all if I hadn't known that my little Tsuna would be fine the entire day."

Her wording had been a little weird in his opinion, a little too specific, but he decided to not dwell on it too much.

"Just trust me on it, Tatsuya-san. That's the way I take care of my son, just like how you have your own way of doing it," here she smiled, amused.

So Mikoto spilled the beans on that one, then. Tatsuya blushed, and the two women giggled.

"Well, it's getting late. I have to go back home now. Thank you for your time Mikoto-chan, Tatsuya-san. Call me later about the playdate, okay Mikoto-chan? See you soon!"

With that, Sawada Nana waved and walked away.

Tatsuya turned to his wife, "Playdate?"

Mikoto gave a small smile, "I thought Kyouya-kun might appreciate the company."

He raised an eyebrow. Really? Their anti-social three-year-old son appreciating company outside of family?

Mikoto caught the disbelieving look on his face and just said, "If she managed to worm her way into my heart so quickly, I'm sure her son can do the same with Kyouya-kun."

Well, that did make just the littlest bit of sense.

THUD.

A small body collided with Tatsuya's legs, which caused him to become unbalanced, but he managed to remain standing. Tatsuya chuckled when he saw the mop of black hair burying his head into his thigh.

"Hi, Kyouya. Did you make any friends today?"

Silence.

Well then, "Are you ready to go home then, Kyouya?"

A nod.

"Alright, let's go."

On the way home, Tatsuya thought that the play date might not sound like such a bad idea at all. Even with the visible age difference between the two. What could possibly go wrong?

(He would come to regret thinking that sentence when he got a report from his subordinate involving his son, his new friend, a giraffe, an air balloon, and getting recruited into the Momokyoukai-gumi.)

 **.:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:.**

I had fun thinking up silly situations Tsuna could end up in lol. Just a heads up, I plan to make this as crack as possible. If you have suggestions for any random situations feel free to tell me in the reviews! That'll be really helpful.

Okay, so here's my headcanon: Sawada Nana is related to Vongola Primo through blood. Idk but it just seems so obvious to me. Tsuna is a brown haired, brown eyed, cuter version of Primo. And at the same time, he's also a younger male version of Nana, albeit with a lighter shade of hair. While it might be just a coincidence I like to think of it that way lmao. That's why in this fic I show Nana as someone who also holds the Hyper Intuition, although she didn't know that's what it's called, and her's is a weaker version of it. She just called it a mother's intuition most of the time.

I know the sudden POV changes might be confusing but just deal with it lmao.

Why do the names of people change several times in the narration? Because I adjust it to fit the POV of the character and also to the introduction points. (Not including the three officers. I immediately introduced them since they're minor characters and it'd be confusing otherwise.) Like how Tatsuya's called "the man" at first (or "the weird man" in Tsuna's POV) before switching to Chief Hibari (or just Hibari) and finally to Tatsuya after his first name was revealed.

Tatsuya's idea of child caring is by sandwiching said child with pillows and duct taping them, not too tight that the child can't breathe, but just enough so that the pillows won't fall. It was bothersome and Kyouya got upset at him for that and refused to interact with him for an entire week. Tatsuya got miserable and promised to never do it again, while Mikoto laughed (elegantly, of course) in the background.

Chopper, out.

Edit: 05/01/2018


	2. Chapter 2

I'M NOT DEAD :D Also I'm in America now apparently but who cares amirite? But on a serious note, I dedicate this chapter to my readers who are victims of Hurricane Harvey. I live near Houston and I am very lucky my host family's neighborhood didn't get flooded. I couldn't imagine what it would have felt like to lose your home, your belongings, maybe even separated from your family members or pets. I know this isn't much, but I hope this chapter would cheer you up for at least a few minutes in the face of this devastation.

This chapter and the next was supposed to be one of the same, but goddamn was it too long so I decided to divide it into two chapters. This first half is pretty short imo but I promise the second half would be slightly longer. It's still in progress and, if the heavens shined upon me, it would be uploaded around next week, maybe even earlier. If not, well, you know my track record…

Warnings: Cursing, attempt pedophilia (nothing bad happened I promise), lack of proofreading. Meaning, probably lots of grammatical error, repetition, typos, and many

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.

 **.:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:.**

 _Chapter 02: In which the Sawada family were reunited_

Nana felt ecstatic. Finally, after so long, Iemitsu was coming home!

Well, not exactly. For security reasons, they decided to not meet in Namimori. It wouldn't be good if someone unwanted traced Iemitsu to their home after all. Instead, she and her little Tsu-kun would go on a two-hour train ride to Kyoto, where they will meet up with Iemitsu in the inn he had booked. He also said he would wear a disguise so no one would recognize him.

Honestly, Nana thought that Iemitsu was being overly paranoid. But if making such a hassle brought some semblance of peace to his mind, then Nana couldn't find it in her heart to protest.

Besides, she would finally be reunited with Iemitsu again, so she didn't care how troublesome the process was!

And Tsu-kun will finally meet his tou-chan! The three of them had communicated through a video call program her husband provided and Tsu-kun already recognized Iemitsu as his tou-chan, but this would be the first time they meet face to face.

(Iemitsu had at first proposed the idea of cutting any kinds of communication to keep them safe, but Nana had put her feet down on that. She refused to have Tsu-kun grow up without knowing who his tou-chan was, or if he even existed in the first place. Iemitsu had conceded and decided to establish an untraceable private connection. Although it took quite a while, they now had a save line to communicate with.)

Moreover, they would also be celebrating Tsu-kun's birthday together! She couldn't wait!

She had packed all the things they would need for the three-day trip and they would be off to the train station first thing in the morning.

Knowing Tsu-kun wouldn't be in town for his birthday, Gouda-san and his friends had come over to drop off the presents they had prepared for Tsu-kun.

It was such a surprise the first time they came over a few months ago. She had been ready to take out the Glock 26 that was hidden in the secret compartment near the door when she saw several members of the Momokyoukai-gumi on her doorstep. That was until she saw Kyouya-kun, Mikoto-chan's son, carrying her Tsu-kun, both looking unconcerned.

She eased a bit. There were no alarm bells ringing in her head, and if it really was trouble, Tsu-kun would be screaming already. Nana had concluded that Tsu-kun's intuition was stronger than hers, so if Tsu-kun saw no need to kick up a fuss, then Nana would do the same.

After some explanation, she understood the situation. Turned out there really was nothing to be worried about. The two of them had just been declared honorary members of the group, that's all!

Apparently, they would have initiated the ceremony to welcome them as full-fledged members, but since it involved drinking sake and they're both still underaged, the plan had to be postponed.

Nana had seen this as a happy occasion nonetheless and felt as if it needed a proper celebration. The yakuza members cheered, Tsu-kun cheered along, while Kyouya-kun wore his usual inscrutable expression.

(Little did she know that Kyouya felt the urge to facepalm. Really, what did he expect from the mother of the absolutely insane brown fluff of a baby? He thought his okaa-san was weird, but Sawada Nana was on another level of absurd.)

When the Hibari couple heard of this, Mikoto didn't bother hiding her amusement at the sudden turn of events and offered for the party to be held at the Hibari estate, painfully stepping on Tatsuya's feet with the heel of her geta when he tried to protest in front of Nana. Meanwhile, Tatsuya had looked as if he was one moment short of having a coronary.

Really, his worries were unfounded. The Momokyoukai-gumi members turned out to be made up of quite charming people, after all! Just proved how one really should not judge something by its cover.

Oh, she got sidetracked! What was she thinking about again? Ah, yes. Tsu-kun's birthday presents from the group members. It was cute seeing how deeply infatuated they were with her little Tsu-kun!

Meanwhile, Mikoto-chan had said that Kyouya-kun was still working on his, so he would give his present after they had returned from Kyoto. It was proof of how close her little Tsu-kun had gotten to the raven-haired boy, the carbon copy of his mother. Apparently, he didn't have any friends before Tsu-kun appeared, the poor boy.

(In actuality, little Kyouya would always beat up anyone who came close to him, saying they were 'crowding' and were 'beneath him'. Eventually, no one dared to approach him. This trait of his was gained from his mother who, while civil for the most part, refused to interact with people if she saw no need. Carbon copy indeed.

Honestly, the only reason Tsuna managed to get close enough to Kyouya without getting hit was that Mikoto didn't want Nana to think badly of her because of her son and had, in turn, told him to behave.)

She got sidetracked again! It must be because of her excitement for the trip. She just couldn't wait for tomorrow!

 **.:-Chapter 02-:.**

 _Two Years Old_

The next morning Nana and Tsuna took the train to Kyoto, but not before saying goodbyes (and receiving several 'happy birthday's in Tsuna's case) to the Hibari family and the Momokyoukai-gumi. The yakuza group members that came to see them off had looked a bit teary eyed, but managed to keep the tears from falling. Tatsuya sweat dropped looking at the scene, a bunch of grown men trying hard to not cry in front of a cheerful two-year-old waving goodbye, while Mikoto looked as distracted as she directed her gaze somewhere.

Kyouya couldn't keep himself from frowning. In the few months Kyouya had known the little brunet, he discovered that Tsunayoshi had the uncanny talent of accidentally (or not so accidentally) getting into trouble. Like that one time on the bridge, or when they stumbled across that squirrel, or the many occasions after.

Tsunayoshi would just pout whenever Kyouya prevented him from going on his 'ventures'. Kyouya had assumed the brunet had meant 'adventures' and no, he wasn't stopping him from having adventures. He was stopping him from getting himself killed.

Regardless of his efforts though, Tsunayoshi would still manage to find a way to 'have fun' in the end, so Kyouya had resorted to escorting him whenever he could.

Because, like they said, if you can't beat them, join them.

Besides, it was kind of fun. But nobody besides him needed to know that, especially his otou-san. He'd flip.

His otou-san had agreed with him on how Tsunayoshi couldn't be left unsupervised. ("He managed to get onto the back of a moving truck and ended up in the police station with a stuffed lion, which I was sure he didn't have before. I still don't know how that happened.")

So his adamant protest when he found out that the Sawada family was going to Kyoto, to unknown territory, wasn't unfounded. At least in Namimori, Kyouya would be there to keep an eye on the boy.

But Nana-baasan ("You can call me Nana-baachan if you want, Kyouya-kun!" "Nana-sa-" Cue The Stare from one Hibari Mikoto. "... Nana-baasan." "Ara, that's fine too, I guess.") managed to persuade him.

"You don't have to worry so much, Kyouya-kun. We would be doing a lot of things on this trip, after all. I'm sure he would be too preoccupied to wander around much," she said.

And it did assure him a little. Maybe with all the things they planned to do he would be too tired to go on (very, very dangerous) adventures.

So Kyouya relented, and with a "bye-bye Kyou-nii!", a "Hn", and numerous sounds of camera flash in the background ("Oh my god, Mikoto they're so adorable I'm going to cry." "Please refrain from doing that, Tatsuya-san. You look very unseemly." "Says the one holding the camcorder- OW!"), the Sawada family boarded their train and went away.

When the train was no longer in sight, the Hibari family made their way home. Kyouya released a sigh of relief. He had been internally twitching because they had been crowding. Just the prospect of standing in the middle of so many people made him want to brandish his very own pair of wooden tonfa.

He deserved to feel smug about it. His otou-san had finally deemed him worthy to wield a weapon and had started training him the moment he turned four. It wasn't metallic like his otou-san's, but he would obtain that as soon as he proved he was strong enough.

Which reminded him, he had another training session with his otou-san after this. The perfect opportunity to get rid of his frustration.

 **.:-Chapter 02-** :.

The two-hour ride with a train plus twenty minutes on a taxi to reach the inn wasn't exactly a problem, but Nana would be lying if she said that she had been calm throughout the ride. Oh, she just couldn't keep a lid on her excitement!

She hummed a familiar tune, watching her Tsu-kun press his head to the taxi window. It was the first time he went out of Namimori, after all. His fascination with all the surroundings was to be expected. She let her mind fly, imagining about all the fun stuff she, her husband, and Tsu-kun could finally do now that they would be reunited.

"Kaa-chan, kaa-chan, look! It's pity!" Tsu-kun tugged at her sleeve while pointing at the eye-catching red gate leading to the Fushimi Inari Shrine.

Nana giggled when she finally caught on what her little boy was trying to say. "Don't you mean 'pretty', Tsu-kun?"

"Un!" he replied, nodding. "Go there!" he continued with much enthusiasm.

Nana's mouth stretched into a wide smile. Her son was just so adorable. "Of course! But first, we're going to meet up with someone special."

Tsu-kun gasped, "Tou-chan?" he questioned eagerly.

She nodded, her smile still place, "That's right! So be good and wait a little longer, okay?"

"'kay!"

The ride to the inn went pretty much like that. Tsu-kun pointing at all the things that caught his eyes and saying they should visit here or there.

Soon they arrived at their destination. The taxi driver helped put down their belongings before driving off. Nana pulled the suitcase on one hand, while her other hand holding onto Tsu-kun's hand. She's so proud of him, already walking on his own two feet!

As they entered the inn, one of the staff approached them, "Welcome-"

"NANA!" in an instant Nana found herself lift off the ground. In her surprise, she had let go of both the suitcase and Tsu-kun, but immediately squealed with glee when she realized the person holding her was her Iemitsu!

He dyed his hair black and was wearing glasses, probably part of his disguise, but she could care less because her Iemitsu was finally here after so long!

She hugged him back, and Iemitsu spun them around in place, not caring about the looks they were garnering from other people present. It was only when her Tsu-kun called that the couple remembered about the world outside of their own.

"Tou-chan!"

They looked towards the source of the sound, and Iemitsu put down Nana on the ground before moving to lift Tsu-kun high in the air.

"Tsuna! That's right, your tou-chan is here!" said the man.

Tsuna had been confused when he saw his tou-chan's appearance. Wasn't his hair supposed to be yellow? And Tsuna didn't remember ever seeing him wear the square thing on his face before. But still, for some reason, Tsuna had known that the unfamiliar-looking man was the same person he and his kaa-chan had been talking to through the square thing at home.

Anyway, he called out to his tou-chan and was lifted up. He squealed with delight at the sudden action.

"Tou-chan! Tou-chan!"

The man swung his son around, hugged him, and delivered kisses to his face. Tsuna giggled when the stubble near the man's mouth tickled his face. Nana just stood there, looking at them with a look of pure joy.

"Ahem."

The family's moment was interrupted by the inn staff that had previously approached them. After garnering their attention, she bowed.

"Welcome to our inn, honorable guests. Would you like some help with your baggage and checking in with the hotel?"

Adjusting Tsuna in his arms, Iemitsu replied, "No, it's fine. I've checked us in earlier and we can carry the suitcase ourselves. Thank you for your hospitality."

"It is of no problem. Please, enjoy your stay and don't hesitate to tell us if you are ever in need of our assistance." With that, the woman bowed again and walked away.

Iemitsu turned to his family, "So after we put your suitcase in our room, what do you want to do? Do you want to rest? Or maybe have lunch?"

Tsuna replied excitedly, "Inari!"

Iemitsu raised an eyebrow, while Nana giggled and clarified for him, "He means the shrine, honey."

Understanding his son's request, he nodded in agreement. "Alright, let's get your stuff out of the way first and then we'll go straight to the shrine."

 **.:-Chapter 02-** :.

They chose to walk to the shrine instead of taking a taxi since it was within walking distance and they wanted to have little Tsuna practice his walking.

Although not five minutes in Tsuna demanded to be carried by his father because he was tired. Iemitsu wasn't complaining though. He would gladly accept any excuse to carry his son in his arms.

On the way, they passed by some food stalls. When they walked to pass a fruit stall, Tsuna began to move around in Iemitsu's arms, reaching his hands towards said stall.

Iemitsu stopped walking, followed by Nana. "What's wrong, Tsu-kun?" Nana voiced both their confusion.

The brunet didn't reply. He continued to reach out and make grabbing motions towards the fruit stall. Specifically, the blueberries that were sold by the stall.

"Do you want those blueberries, Tsuna?" Iemitsu asked. Tsuna turned his head to look at the man and nodded enthusiastically.

They continued on after acquiring their purchase in a small plastic bag. The plastic filled with blueberries was hung on Tsuna's left wrist while he picked them one by one with his other hand and ate them. ("Ah-ah! Clean your hands with a hand sanitizer first, Tsu-kun!")

When they arrived at the entrance of the famous shrine, Tsuna visibly brightened up.

"Tou-chan, look! It's pi- pretty!" he stumbled on his words, but the message came across in the end.

Iemitsu laughed a boisterous laugh, "Ahaha, that's right Tsuna! It is very pretty."

The family looked around the lower part of the shrine before slowly trekking up the hill the shrine was located in, taking pictures and having fun as a family along the way.

After quite a while, Tsuna felt like walking, so he told his father to put him down, which the man complied with.

The family of three walked some more, with the parents holding onto each of their son's hand until they came upon a row of shops selling various souvenirs, charms, and other little trinkets.

Nana, whose primary objective of going to the shrine (aside from her Tsu-kun's pleading) was to buy good luck charms, walked ahead towards the charms section, letting go of the hand she was previously holding.

"Darling, look at these charms! Luck, happiness, income-" seeing the next on the list she broke up in a giggle, a blush forming on her face and a dreamy sigh coming out of her mouth, "love..."

"You can get them if you want, Nana. But I know for a fact that we don't need luck for our love to last forever," the Sawada patriarch said, feeling like the smoothest man in town, holding his lover's hands in his own.

In doing so though, he had let go of his son. His decidedly bored son.

Big Mistake Number One.

"Oh, Iemitsu, you're such a charmer!" the couple was consumed in their own world and failed to notice their son had wandered off in search of something fun to do.

 **.:-Chapter 02-** :.

Tsuna felt very happy today. Even though he was separated from Kyou-nii, he got to have fun with his kaa-chan and tou-chan! But his kaa-chan and tou-chan were busy with each other so he thought he'd just go and have fun by himself.

Tsuna walked down the pathway that was filled with lots of people. He got annoyed because the number of people present (there's so many of them) blocked him from going further.

He huffed and decided to just not follow the pathway provided and walk wherever he wanted.

He kept walking, deeper into the woods and farther away from socialization. He didn't know where exactly he's walking, but The Small Voice in the back of his mind told him to 'keep going' so he did. Like how it told him to get the yummy fruits (his tou-chan had called them 'blueberries') and to not eat all of it. (He was very tempted though. They were just so good.)

After some time walking Tsuna was feeling quite annoyed. He'd been walking forever and nothing fun had happened. Instead, he felt more bored than ever.

He was getting tired of walking, so he sat cross-legged below a tree to rest. He'd eat three blueberries. If nothing happens after that, he would turn back and look for his parents, no matter what The Small Voice said.

First berry, picked up and eaten. Second berry met the same fate as the first. Just as he was about to put the third berry into his mouth, something fell from the tree branch on top of him and landed on his laps.

He blinked, confused. The object that fell on his lap appeared to be a small animal of some sort, but he didn't know what it's called. The animal had white fur, pointed nose and ears, and very fluffy-looking tail. The Small Voice was now telling him to give the blueberries to the small animal, so he did.

He offered the blueberry that was on his hand to the animal. It leaned away from his hand at first, but after a few experimental sniffs, it conceded and ate the fruit. Tsuna giggled at the display. He liked the animal very much, and to show it he gave the rest of his blueberries to the animal.

Apparently, the snowy animal had liked him back after a few berries, because he let Tsuna pet it and play with its tail. After a few minutes, they had become fast friends and was playing tag with each other. (Never mind the fact that normal animals usually wouldn't act like that. Not that little Tsunayoshi knew that of course.)

Tsuna was squealing and giggling as he chased after his new friend. Well, not really. His chasing would be more accurately described as precariously walking as fast as his feet would allow him. Meanwhile, his little friend was yipping and jumping around, perfectly capable of outrunning the brunet but not doing so as to be fair towards its companion.

Their fun was cut short however when Tsuna ran into something. Specifically, someone. Even more specifically, someone's legs. Little Tsuna fell onto his backside while the person he collided to didn't seem to be affected in any way.

The person, a man judging by his looks, leaned down just enough and offered a hand towards Tsuna.

"Oh, I'm sorry little guy, I didn't mean to do that. How about I buy you an ice cream as an apology?" said the man with a (fake, The Small Voice said) smile.

The offer of ice cream was tempting, but The Small Voice was telling him to decline. So he glumly declined.

"No thanks, sir," Tsuna said as he shook his head and crossed his legs, not bothering to stand up. He was tired from running around and the ground was feeling comfy at the moment.

The hand that was outstretched towards him didn't pull back. Honestly, Tsuna had no idea why the man was stretching his hand towards him, so he just stared at it. After a while the smile slipped from the man's face, showing an unpleasant expression, before it returned in place. He pulled back his hand and stood up straight.

"Well then, how about a lollipop?" He asked while fiddling with his belt buckle. Without warning, Tsuna's fluffy friend immediately bit him on the leg.

"Agh! What the- Fucking fox! Get the fuck off me!" The man jumped around, trying and failing to pry the animal away. Suddenly, he froze in his movements and face-planted to the ground. Not a second later two small figures dropped down from above and landed right on the unconscious man's back.

"We shouldn't have let him get this far from his parents," one of them said, her face forming a frown. The baby was holding a really long gun, kinda like the one his kaa-chan hid under her bed. How did she do that? Even he could only lift one of the tiny ones, and she was smaller than him!

"Geez, cut him some slack, kora! If I was in his position and my parents are acting like that in the middle of a crowd, I'd bail too. Besides, you managed to stop the ba-" the frowny baby gave him a scary look, "-nana before anything happens, so all's good, right?" the other baby continued as if there was nothing wrong. He had yellow hair similar to his tou-chan's and a cloth tied around it.

The frowny baby growled at the yellow baby, "Of course I did! But that was way too close, and that was because you were distracting me from my duties!" And with that, the frowny baby swung her gun towards the other baby, like a batter hitting the ball with a bat, and the yellow baby was thrown back deeper into the woods.

Then the frowny baby turned her glare towards Tsuna. He, in turn, just blinked.

Silence stretched between them, the angry baby in irritation while Tsuna in confusion, before she sighed and said, "Go back to your parents kid."

Well, he was feeling tired and missing his tou-chan and kaa-chan so...

"'kay!" beaming, he stood up and walked unsteadily to where The Voice told him his parents were. All he could think of at the moment was getting to his parents quickly and taking a nap while his tou-chan carried him. Everything else was pushed back and forgotten.

Like the man laying on the ground. Or the incredibly peculiar pair of babies. Or his newest friend, who had disappeared without anyone noticing.

 **.:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:.**

Revieeeewwwwsss!

Guest (1): I'm glad my intention came across :') Here's more!

Guest (2): Lol, honestly it's been so long since I've watched it I don't even remember the story anymore. The only thing I'm sure of is that it was hilarious to watch the many crazy situations the baby ended up in so I thought "I want to achieve that level of ridiculousness." Don't know if I'll manage, but I'll definitely try :) I probably won't be doing a de-aged Tsuna fic anywhere in the near future but I can assure you that if all goes well, Tsuna will be messing with the Varia.

ChaosdragonPrincess: Thank you!

Youko Artemis: And here's the next journey!

Guest (3): Yes Reborn will not be pleased when he realized he can't mess with Tsuna (much) lol. Nana can stop him, but she felt that as long as he'll come back in one piece, Tsuna can have his merry little adventures. No, Iemitsu is still descended from Primo. It's just that, while he and Tsuna are directly descended from him, Nana's like a very distantly related family member? So distant that in the greater outlook on things they're considered not related. (So no it's not incest if that's what you're thinking lol.)

myownersmanual: I'm not familiar with this Animaniacs franchise. But I'll take it as a compliment lmao. Yes lil Tsuna is adorable I agree :')

VONGOLA DECIMOM: Yes, Nana is related to Primo. But, as I've said to Guest (3) above, she's very distantly related. And yes technically she would be an eligible Decimo heir, but she still lost compared to Tsuna who's a direct descendant of Primo, even though she's older. So yeah, no Decimom lmao.

Bella Roset, makubex000, Guest (4), Amusedbabysitter: I'm glad you like it. Here's the next chapter!

Guest (5): That's actually a really good idea! Thank you so much for the suggestion. I'll note it down and try to put it in this story somehow later on.

janellenicole52600: Pardon?

OperaEagle IcelynLacelett: Very true lol. As for Mukuro, you'll have to read on to find out mwahahaha. Yeah, I got some inspiration from Odd Job Tsuna (for those of you who hadn't read it, you're missing out. Go read it!) and Baby's Day Out, though you probably already know about the latter since I mentioned it in the first chapter. I have some things planned for the Hibari parents. And yep, Tsuna did, in fact, saved Tatsuya from death by (actually really lucky, since this is a noob shooter and wannabe gangster we're talking about) headshot.

Thanks for reading, folks! Your reviews would be greatly appreciated! I love reading reviews so much. They never fail to cheer me up and every time I get a notification that someone reviewed my story I always go "aw yiss."

Choppa, out.

Edit: 05/01/2018


	3. Chapter 3

AN: …. hewwo?

I'm alive. Also, review replies at the end.

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

 **.:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:.**

 _Chapter 03: In which things took a weird turn towards the supernatural_

"You know, when I signed my contract, I wasn't aware that my job included babysitting."

"Loosen up Lal, kora! Just think of it as paid vacation."

"You said the same thing just a few hours ago and the kid almost got attacked by a fucking pedophile. Shut your mouth, you idiot."

Lal resisted an urge to sigh. It was weird enough to see her boss act so... disgustingly smitten with his wife. (And no one could blame her. Seeing Iemitsu do a one-eighty from his usual on-the-job personality would have had anyone who knew his work persona floored.) Then she found out that her idiot disciple had followed her all the way to Japan. ("I have nothing to do, kora." "You have Mafia Land to oversee." "Like I said, nothing to do.") Then her charge had an encounter with a pedophile. (Who, unfortunately, she couldn't kill. Because that would just raise questions and that's the last thing they needed.)

Great, she could feel a headache coming.

Colonello was chattering a-mile-a-minute next to her about something-or-other but she didn't care. She was cursing herself for accepting this job. It was more trouble than she thought it would be.

The head of CEDEF had been running himself ragged and even the Vongola Nono himself had told him to 'relax a little, take a vacation and see his family.' But the blond had been stubborn, insisting that it wasn't safe. The only reason why he was here now was that Nono had called her in and asked for a favor.

Apparently, the assurance that one of the World's Strongest would be there to help protect his family had been just enough incentive for him to buy a ticket to Japan.

And then she discovered that it wasn't only one of the world's strongest, but two. Because the old man was a conniving bastard and had called the Rain Arcobaleno behind her back.

Admittedly, when she heard what her job this time would entail, she had thought piece of cake. (Or paid vacation, as Colonello had eloquently put.) Because like it or not, her boss' paranoia was actually working. There wasn't even a hint that the Sawada family was connected to him, nevermind the fact that he was the head of the household.

In fact, the only reason she knew about this little secret was that Iemitsu had trusted her and told her himself. (Through a plethora of secret codes disguised as mission details, but same difference.) Colonello had known because of the same reasons. Technically, Colonello wasn't a member of CEDEF, but he might as well be. With how many times he visited the HQ and how he somehow always get sent on missions on behalf of CEDEF. In short, he was an ally.

That was also why the two of them was chosen to handle this particular job.

The moment they stepped foot into Japan, their immediate destination was the train station in Namimori. They got there a good couple of hours before the Sawada family was scheduled to arrive. Both Arcobaleno were taken aback when they saw the family they were entrusted with was escorted by a large crowd consisting of men who looked like they came right out of a yakuza flick and a family of three.

Neither of them expected this turn of event, and looking at the collection of men with rough countenance had made them wary. Lal and Colonello had done a little research before coming to Namimori, and only several groups from this immediate area fit the description. The fact that the family was somehow associated with them wasn't really a good sign. Especially with how Iemitsu had been rather keen on keeping his family as far away from the underground world as possible.

However, they deemed the group of men as harmless based on how they lack any sort of weaponry and animosity towards the Sawada's. There was also the fact that, instead of threatening actions, most of the men seem to be bawling their eyes out and cooing goodbyes at the tiny toddler in his mother's arms.

"What the hell," Colonello muttered, and Lal didn't reprimand him for risking their hiding spot (no matter how small such gesture was) because her thought process was going along the same lines.

She continued to scan the crowd, and all thoughts of sobbing full-grown men were pushed to the back of her mind when she inspected the family of three that had accompanied them. Or more specifically, the adult with long black hair braided to the side and familiar posture.

Her mind screeched to a halt when she thought she was seeing Fon back in his adult body. But then it caught up to reality when she saw that this Fon look-a-like was female, and unless the Chinese martial artist had somehow broken the Arcobaleno curse and had undertaken a sex change right after, then it was unlikely that the individual she was seeing was the same person. By the sound of Colonello choking on his own spit and trying his hardest not to cough, she assumed he finally caught sight of Fon's doppelganger.

Not only her, but the child next to her appeared to be a mini-Fon of his own.

Thankfully, the father had no similarity whatsoever towards their Storm comrade. A blessing, because if he had she would have had a heart attack.

'Goddamnit Fon, warn a person when there's more of you walking around the face of the earth.'

When Lal focused her attention back on the woman, Female Fon was staring at them intently, her eyes sending a message loud and clear. 'Come closer and I will make sure you regret it.'

They were two of the Strongest for a reason, and both were confident that defeating the woman wouldn't be too difficult. But they were also trying to stay under the radar and picking a fight with a member of the Triad (and what else could it be? The similarity with Fon was too striking to dismiss it as anything else) was just asking for attention, so they stayed away.

The train departed and the family managed to reach Kyoto without a hitch. They took a taxi and the two Arcobaleno sat on the roof of the vehicle, Lal coating their presence with her Mist Flame. It wouldn't do if other people saw two infants sitting on top of the roof of a moving vehicle after all.

Everything else went perfectly fine. That was until the kid wandered off on his own. It was with a little disbelief that Lal watched as Iemitsu let that happen, but she guessed that the man was so over the moon at having reunited with his beloved wife and, to an extent, not knowing that leaving a two-year-old child unattended was a big no-no, that he did this careless act. Nevertheless, she and Colonello followed after the brunet boy.

She had half a mind to prevent him from going too far, but her orders were to not engage with any of the family members unless strictly necessary, so she held herself.

A tiny white fox fell onto her charge's lap and she was instantly suspicious.

COMSUBIN members were taught things that would help them in the field, from the broadest subject to the smallest detail. While she had quit COMSUBIN for CEDEF, the knowledge she gained there was something she would carry to her grave.

Thanks to that, she knew for a fact the animal was odd, for the lack of better words. First of all, white foxes usually live around the Arctic region, and unless world geography and climate were fucked up for some reason, Japan was not in that area.

Second, white foxes' fur became a combination of gray-brown in summer and change into white in winter. It was currently mid-Autumn in Japan, meaning the fox's fur should still be gray-brown. It's not.

Third, the fur wasn't as thick as the usual white foxes', and the ears weren't as small. They needed their thick fur and small ears to survive the freezing temperatures of the Arctic, and this fox had none of that.

Now that she thought about it, rather than calling it the typical white fox, it was more of a normal red fox dumped into white paint. In conclusion, it was a mutation of some sort on the animal's pigment. Being a fellow ex-COMSUBIN member, she had no doubt Colonello had come to the same conclusion.

After a few minutes of nothing threatening happening, they both relaxed a fraction. It was weird that a wild animal such as the fox would willingly interact with a human, but the brunet boy seemed to like his newest company and said company wasn't doing anything dangerous, so she didn't see any need to separate them.

The blond next to her decided that nothing's going to happen and dragged her into a conversation. ("This is way too easy." "All the more reason to not let our guard down."). Which inevitably turned into a whispered argument that she absolutely could not ignore. (He thought that between Zamza and Falco, her animal companion wouldn't stand a chance. Unbelievable.) And just her luck that the moment they both got distracted, that happened.

She was ninety-eight percent sure that it was because Colonello jinxed it.

Lal had acted on muscle memory and shot the man right at the back of his chest. It was a good thing she already changed her weapon to a tranquilizer gun instead of her usual firearm. Otherwise, the bullet would have pierced the man's heart and she would have a dead body and a mentally scarred child to deal with.

Enough was enough and it was time for the kid to go. The two of them got out of their hiding spot and bickered a bit before she flung the blond baby somewhere deeper into the woods and told her the reason for her agitation to go back to his parents. When the kid walked away she was mildly impressed to note that it was indeed the right direction where his parents were. That's the Vongola Intuition for you, she guessed. But she wasn't going to let her guard down this time, so she quickly followed after him.

The unconscious man wouldn't be remembering any of the events that had happened, thanks to the newly made Memory-Eraser Tranquilizer that the Vongola Science Department had come up with.

(A device that they should rename soon, preferably something less of a tongue twister. The scientists were reluctant to do so because they just found the perfect name that also rhymed, but the complaints coming from the other Vongola members saying they always embarrass themselves when they try to vocally pronounce it was numerous enough that Vongola Nono had to practically order them to find a new name.)

She left Colonello behind to deal with the man's (unconscious) body. If the idiot couldn't even find his way back to her after that, then he obviously didn't deserve to be with her.

That wasn't an acknowledgment. Shut up.

After quite a while the boy finally returned to his family. When he was spotted, his father immediately rushed to him and hugged him close. By his rather disheveled look, Lal guessed that Iemitsu had run around looking and asking others if they've seen the boy. The man frantically asked a plethora of questions, but most of it seemed to fly over the child's head as he just replied by saying that he played around with a fluffy animal.

The mother, meanwhile, didn't look as flustered as her husband. A tad bit worried, yes, but not at all nervous like how Lal had expected her to react. She just asked if he had fun, and when he gave a cheerful nod, she gave a big smile of her own and told him that she's glad he was having fun.

Afterward, Iemitsu had calmed down just enough for them to continue on with their sight-seeing, this time making sure that he didn't let go of his son's hand, and return to the inn.

Which brought them back to the present.

"- So my left foot was stuck there and I thought, 'Oh shit.' But then I saw the creepy woman from that one job in Palermo. You know, the one I told you about, the Hungarian lady with a frying pan. Anyway, she was approaching and I thought, 'DOUBLE OH SHIT.' Like, how the hell did she find me? We were in London! So in my panic, I tried forming a plan to dislodge my foot from the hole with the salmon I was holding-"

God, he was still talking. What was he even talking about?

She tuned him out again in favor of paying more attention to the job. She let him had fun with his storytelling mostly because they're at a safe enough distance from the Sawada's that they wouldn't be noticed if they talk in moderate volume. The night sky was a cloudless one, and the family was having a small birthday party slash dinner in their room. (VIP room, very cozy. Had its own living room and small onsen and all.)

"- And I managed to hide in a package that was conveniently there, but then I kinda fell asleep and the next thing I knew the box was sealed with duct tape and sent somewhere. Yeah, I could've gotten out whenever I wanted but I was also feeling a bit lazy, you know? And it would be really rude to just rip open someone's package. So I waited a while, surrounded by dusty books, and thankfully the package arrived at its destination before I died of boredom-"

She saw Iemitsu and his wife tuck their son to sleep and turn off the lights, before making their way to the living room. To have quality time between the two of them, no doubt.

"- Can you believe it? Anyway since I was there I thought, 'Hey, why not watch that Broadway musical Skull had been talking about?' So I slipped in and yeah, I could see why he kept gushing over it for weeks. It was really interesting and the songs were so good I even kept some tunes in my phone-"

She sipped on her coffee. Nothing seemed amiss, but that didn't change the fact that she'd be the first to keep watch before later switching with Colonello at 1 AM. She would need any help she could get to stay vigilant.

At the moment they were perched upon a tree quite a ways from the Sawada family's room, comfortable enough thanks to their infant-sized body, for a better view of their client and the surroundings. Their camp was situated right below, but it was less a camp and more of a solitary tent, for the sole purpose of one person to rest in while waiting for or after finishing their shift.

"-She was there again! What the fuck?! I don't get why she's so stubborn to find me. What I do get, though, was that I gotta bail. She hadn't noticed me yet so I managed to get out through an open window and went straight to the train station. Bought tickets and circled around the US a bit to set her off my trail before riding the earliest international flight to me at the time-"

She felt that she ignored Colonello enough and was ready to enter his one-sided conversation, but stopped herself when she saw a white luminescent object heading towards the direction of their client's room. Lal picked up her binoculars to get a closer look.

Colonello saw her actions and, after noticing the offending object, did the same.

"Is that a glowing fox, kora?"

 **.:-Chapter 03-** :.

Today was a really great day. For one, it's his birthday! Two, his tou-chan was here! And what's more, his kaa-chan looked super duper happy, which in turn made him super duper happy.

After dinner, which was great because they got him a chocolate cake and didn't force him to eat his veggies, he was carried by his tou-chan to his futon. Both his tou-chan and kaa-chan wished him sweet dreams before turning off the lights and gently sliding the door closed.

Outside the room, Iemitsu turned to his wife, "So, how about it, Nana? Do you feel up for my little proposal from earlier?"

Nana giggled. "Oh, what about Tsu-kun? I don't want to wake him up..."

"Don't worry, honey. It would be fine as long as we're really quiet."

She giggled again, and they made their way to the living room. Mind towards their next activity and nothing else, their unknowingly-not-tired-and-getting-bored son included.

Big Mistake Number Two.

Meanwhile, Tsuna was laying on the futon. Not sleeping, no. He was just staring at the roof, thinking of ways to un-bore himself, until he heard knocking on the window. Curious, he made his way to the window and, with some difficulty, opened it.

It turned out to be his little friend from the forest! The mean man from before had called him... Socks? Yeah, that sounded right.

"Socks!"

The animal was sitting on the windowsill as it yipped and when Tsuna reached for it, it rubbed its head to Tsuna's hand. After quite a while of rubbing (so fluffy!), it jumped into the room.

"Socks?"

It happened in a flash. One moment Socks was tiny, and then there was smoke, and then Socks was big! When it stood, the both of them were staring eye to eye, and Tsuna didn't have to look down.

But then he noticed the most important thing. Socks looked so fluffy!

Without hesitation, Tsuna jumped towards the no-longer-little animal to hug it. "Fluffy!" he exclaimed with glee. Socks puffed his chest at that, as much as he could without bothering the brunet clinging to his neck, before lifting the boy up to his back using his tails.

That's right, tails. It didn't have one tail, it had two.

Only after Socks jumped out the window, taking Tsuna with him, did he realize something.

Did he realize that he shouldn't get onto shapeshifting animals (that glows too!) that was taking him somewhere he didn't know in the middle of the night and that he should tell it to take them back to the inn before they got too far?

Pssh, no.

He realized that his new friend was taking him on an adventure!

Tsuna squealed as Socks run through the sky. All four of its legs were covered in blue fire, and similar fire surrounded them in the form of tiny balls of flames. He looked at them wide-eyed.

"Pretty," he whispered to the one right beside him, and it flared up for a split second as if thanking him for the compliment.

The city below them was covered in lights, Tsuna thought it resembled multi-colored stars with weird shapes. The people standing on the ground were oblivious to the child riding on a magical fox surrounded by blue fireballs. Some crows followed alongside them, doing somersaults in the air and causing Tsuna to giggle.

This was turning out to be the best day of his life!

 **.:-Chapter 03-** :.

This was turning out to be the worst day of her life.

Yes, even worse than getting turned into an infant.

She had a sinking feeling when she saw the (glowing?!) fox. Then it turned bigger and she felt her stomach dropped and got squashed by one of those ridiculous anvils from that stupid show with the roadrunner and the unluckiest coyote alive.

And then the fucking fox took the kid away.

"Colonello!"

"Ahead of ya, kora! Come on!" The blond threw a rope at her and she took it. With the help of Falco, they followed the kidnapped brunet into the sky. Colonello being held by Falco with his claws, while she gripped onto one end of the rope, with the other end tied around the blond's hip. It was an awkward position, but it was the best they could come up within the split second the brat rode on a magical glowing fox Jesus Christ.

Again, Lal coated their presence with mist flames so nobody below would notice them. They kept trying to catch up to the fox until they saw it heading towards the Fushimi Inari Shrine.

She had a really bad feeling about this.

"Tell him to go faster, Colonello!"

"He's doing the best he can, okay? Two infants carrying a rifle and a shotgun and who-knows-what-else aren't exactly light, kora!"

Lal clicked her tongue but didn't refute.

"Wheeeeee!"

That was the last thing they heard from the brat before the fox, along with some crows surrounding them, fucking plunged them into a lake and didn't resurface.

Lal was now faced with a choice. Should they dive into a lake in the middle of the night to look for the brunet, or should they just risk facing the wrath of the Young Lion of Vongola?

The surroundings of the lake were empty. A given, because the lake was in the middle of the shrine and the shrine itself, no matter how pretty, was undeniably creepy at night. Barely anyone visited the shrine at this hour, so there was no one to witness the fox plummet into the lake with a boy on its back. Nor was there any to witness two infants flying with the help of a hawk pondering whether or not they should do the same.

She stared at the lake. It was mocking her.

... Fuck it. "Hit the gas, Colonello."

"Uh, technically there's no 'gas' to hit-"

"COLONELLO!"

He yelped and signaled for Falco to hit the gas and dive them in.

The falcon refused. Birds weren't made to swim, you know. Colonello passed the message to Lal. While true, it still ticked her off.

"So, you're telling me you're gonna lose to a bunch of fucking crows? Is that it?" Lal purposefully provoked the bird.

Falco got so offended he dived in without further prompting.

They were in, and then they were out.

They didn't do a one-eighty. They dived into the lake, but for some reason, they were outside again.

She was about to tell Colonello to dive them in again until the surroundings caught her eyes.

There were foxes everywhere. Of different kinds, but most of them were similar to the one that had kidnapped her two-years-old charge. Some of them were playing around, some sleeping, some eating. It was a bizarre view, seeing so many foxes in one place at the same time.

She made a quick observation of their surroundings and found that yes, they were still within the shrine area. But then how did all these foxes gather here in the split second it took them to dive into the lake?

Then she heard the squeal of a child and all questions were pushed back in favor of getting to the source of the sound as soon as possible.

She definitely did not sign up for this shit. This was the job of the child's parents. Really, what were they even doing?

 **.:-Chapter 03-** :.

"Nana... please, wait..." Iemitsu said with a strained voice.

Nana smirked, "Oh, honey, surely you can do better?"

Iemitsu gulped. A bead of sweat rolled down his face. After a few moments of silence, he made his move.

A clatter was heard in the otherwise silent room.

"YES!" Nana stood up from her seat and did a tiny dance.

"THIS IS COMPLETE BULLSHIT!" He exclaimed, throwing a lemon across the room in his rage.

"This is the real life, sugar." She said smugly, and held out a hand, "Pay up."

Iemitsu glowered, "You can't make me."

"Pay up, or I will throw that poor, abused lemon back in your face."

Iemitsu clicked his tongue, and reluctantly gave the right amount of money. An object-throwing Nana is a dangerous Nana. Especially with lemons. It reminded him of that time they went on a date and a man tried to steal the necklace Iemitsu gave her. That poor, poor bastard. Iemitsu shivered.

Meanwhile, Nana happily counted her money, oblivious to her husband's inner turmoil. He banged the table in frustration. "Come on, let's get on with it so I can kick your ass!" He was going to get his revenge, and it would be the sweetest thing he ever tasted.

Nana gave him another infuriating smirk. "In your dreams, pumpkin pie."

With that, their game of monopoly continued.

 **.:-Chapter 03-** :.

Lal and Colonello arrived at a horrifying scene.

"Holy shit, they're eating him, kora!"

The brunet child was surrounded by numerous fox cubs. So much so that the only part of him that they could see was his arm sticking out of the fluff-pile.

Lal was about to shoot them but then realized that with the way the kid was covered, she could end up shooting him instead of his assailants. She was ready to just jump in and pry the cubs off when a voice echoed around them.

"Children, I think you have scared our guests enough."

As soon as they heard that, the foxes immediately dispersed, but they didn't leave. In their wake was a small, giggling figure, courtesy of a single fox cub left behind licking his face.

"I sincerely apologize for that. They tend to get overly excited when there are guests over, you see. Especially when it is a Pure child such as him."

The two of them turned to the source of the voice.

Sitting sideways on top of a white nine-tailed fox, even bigger than the one they had seen before, was someone who Lal could only describe of having an ethereal beauty. Long, silky black hair, lithe physique, and half-lidded eyes which pierce through the soul. Their kimono, orange-hued adorned with the pattern of falling leaves, and the striking yellow obi, which circled around their hip, only added to that impression.

However, there was something off about them. Something she couldn't put into words. That alone was enough to put her on guard.

The kimono-clad individual got down from their seated position and approached the two. They crouched in order to be closer to their eye level, and Lal swore that it has got to be the most elegant crouch she had ever seen.

The person smiled. "Good evening, Cursed Ones. I hope you're enjoying yourselves here. This place was built by my faithful followers after all, and is very dear to my heart."

It didn't take her long to connect the dots after that. This person was the divine being that dwells within this shrine.

As if sensing Lal's conclusion, they brought their hands together into a small clap, visibly happy. "How wonderful of you to figure it out yourself! You are correct. I am Inari-Okami, the deity that protects the crops, prosperity, and the worldly success of my followers. If you wish, you may refer to me as Inari."

It certainly explained the otherworldly atmosphere she felt from them. Colonello, meanwhile, spluttered next to her; he hadn't figured it out before the deity, Inari, introduced themselves. The latter only giggled at the reaction.

Inari stood up and made their way towards the brunet on the ground. The two infants immediately trained their guns on them.

Neither of them would let anything happen to the kid, even if it meant shooting a so-called 'god'.

Of course, that didn't end well; the foxes, who sensed the sudden hostility towards their master, started growling and looked ready to tear them to pieces.

Inari ignored them and picked up the kid, "Do not worry. No harm will come upon this child so long as he is within my domain."

They seated the brunet on the back of their nine-tailed fox, which prompted a delighted sound from the kid. "Come, let us talk over some tea." With that, they turned around and walked away with the giant fox in tow.

Both Arcobaleno knew that it wasn't a request, and made to catch up.

 **.:-Chapter 03-** :.

"This is a really good tea, kora! You gotta tell me how you made it."

"My, thank you for the compliment, Colonello-san. However, I am afraid I will be keeping that to myself for the time being."

"Whaaat? Man, that sucks. Can I bring some back home though? I have a thermos with me, kora."

"Most certainly! I am truly glad that you enjoy my special blend of tea."

Somehow, someway, Colonello and the divine being known as Inari had become fast friends, and Lal was left wondering how the hell did her partner take these things in stride.

She took a sip of her own tea. Hmm, yeah, that's some good tea right there. She might ask for some to bring home, too.

The three of them were seated on the clearing near the lake, on top of a picnic blanket with floor cushions to make their seating experience slightly better. There was a small wooden table in the middle of the blanket, where the ex-COMSUBIN members sat on one side while the deity sat on the other. Falco, their means of transportation, was perched on a tree branch, seemingly in a conversation (argument) with a murder of crows.

Meanwhile, the root of the large migraine that she could feel creeping up was being doted on by the various foxes within the realm, most of them still cubs. The brunet had fallen asleep on Inari's large fox, Harugitsune, who was laid down on the ground to provide somewhat of a flat surface with her body. The latter seemed content with letting the child rest.

Inari had explained several things to their guests. How the place they were currently at was a mirror world of sorts and how the reason one of their fox cubs, Naki, had 'kidnapped' the child was because he took a shine on the latter.

Said kidnapper was perched next to the slumbering victim, content with watching the rise and fall of the brunet's chest. Inari looked at the scene with fondness clear in their eyes, and Lal couldn't find it in her to be angry at the cub for making her job that much more complicated.

Besides, there was something she'd been meaning to ask since the deity first greeted them.

She looked at Inari, "Earlier you called us 'Cursed Ones'. What did you mean by that?"

Colonello snapped his head at this and turned to look at her subject of interrogation.

Their ever-present smile didn't waver, bringing their cup to their lips and sipped.

After a few seconds, which felt like decades to the two mafia members, they replied, "You know full well the reason for that, Lal-san."

She kept calm, but a blooming sense of hope in her heart betrayed her excitement. All that was dashed to the ground at their next words.

"Yet, I have no particular interest in your predicament, nor do I feel the compulsion of assisting you in your worldly problems. You are not my worshipers, after all, and I know that neither of you ever will be, despite your knowledge of the truth of my existence."

All of that was sound assessments, and Lal could do nothing but grit her teeth. They were so close to a possible solution, or even just some answers to their unanswered questions, but in the end, it was all false hope.

How the world loved to see them suffer. Or maybe this was just karma for all the sins they've committed.

Either way, that wouldn't stop her from trying to gain their adult bodies back, and she was sure the other seven people cursed with her were of the same thoughts.

Just then, there was a small sneeze, and her brunet charge woke up from his sleep.

"Well, it appears that the slumbering young master has woken up. It is high time that all of you return to your side of the world. The sun is about to rise, you see."

Lal raised her eyebrow, "We can only come here during nighttime?"

"Close, but not quite. Mortals may only enter and leave when the night sky is cloudless, and your chances of getting here depend on the moon cycle. The best chance of getting here is during a night of the full moon. The further away it is, the less likely you will get here. Plunging into this lake during a new moon will more likely to make you drenched without the desired result."

"On to more pressing matters, I truly insist you take the child and leave soon. Time is ticking, and you will lose your chance of leaving soon the moment sunlight hits the horizon. I am sure this child's parents will be worried when they realize their son is missing."

The two Arcobaleno blanched at that. The leader of CEDEF would hang them by their entrails if that happened. He might not be able to actually do it, but he would certainly try. Iemitsu Sawada was a terrifying man when angered, and you would pay a heavy price if you didn't keep that in mind.

They were thinking of a way to take the toddler with them, a difficult thing to accomplish since he was physically bigger than the two, when Inari came to their rescue.

"Naki will carry him for you. It will be the least he can do to repay you for stealing away your charge."

The mentioned fox looked guilty, but he showed Inari a face that Lal could only guess as pleading. Inari sighed, amused but not giving in to whatever silent request the fox cub had asked them.

"No, Naki, we cannot keep him here. It matters not that you finally found a mortal you may adore. In the first place, you should not have brought a mortal in this realm without my consent," the deity gently admonished him. "It is truly fortunate that all of them have potent Flames."

At the mention of Flames, Colonello raised an eyebrow, "What if we hadn't had strong Flames?"

"Once again, you will drown." The blond's other eyebrow joined the first. "This lake, and other places, are merely locked gateways. Only beings of Nature and those who possess significant fragments of Nature are able to unlock them. I am the former, and the Flames you manipulate are the latter."

That was a rather interesting piece of information. Inari had basically implied that there are other 'gateways' everywhere else. Maybe those gateways would lead to a different place, one with a different being guarding it, who would hold the answers they seek. The only thing her mind could focus on was a possible lead on breaking the Arcobaleno Curse.

Meanwhile, Inari had gone back to addressing the tiny criminal, "If you escort them back, you may go and pay a visit to the child on occasions. If not, I have no choice but to have Harugitsune do it, and you will not be allowed to leave this realm for another hundred years, at least, to prevent anything like this happening again in the near future."

The fox whimpered, while Inari's serene expression didn't change "The choice is yours to make."

It was hardly a choice at all, and everyone knew the option he took when Naki transformed into his other form.

After some preparations, and by that she meant a better positioning with their transport Falco, the two infants left with their client's son, a fox, and two thermoses full of tea.

"Farewell, dear guests. Please, do come visit anytime you wish."

 **.:-Chapter 03-** :.

They arrived back at the inn without a hitch with the sun just starting to rise. The brunet's parents had fallen asleep in the living room, monopoly set still laid out on the table between them. It seemed like they had played until exhaustion consumed them. Lal snickered when she noticed Iemitsu's wife had a large pile of money compared to him, who was nearing bankruptcy.

When Naki had dropped them off, he looked reluctant to leave. He had stood on the windowsill and just stared at the child he had kidnapped. Lal contemplated between letting the fox be or reminding him of Inari's words when he suddenly snapped his head towards the direction of the lake.

He looked at the brunet one last time. The latter, who had dozed off from the last time he woke up, had come to consciousness when they were mid-air. He latched onto the windowsill and scratched under the fox's chin.

"Bye-bye, Socks."

She had no idea where the nickname came from, and frankly, she didn't care. The fox licked his apparent favorite human before reluctantly leaving, this time traveling on the ground instead of in the air.

Lal looked back at the child and saw that he was already dozing off. "Get some more sleep, brat. Preferably to the point where you think last night was all a dream."

Whether the latter would happen, she didn't know. But the brunet obediently went under the futon and was out in a matter of second.

Honestly, she could do with some shut-eye too. The night had gone _way_ off-course than what she had originally thought.

They went back to the tree they had based themselves previously and sat in their initial position before all that fiasco happened. Next to her, Colonello yawned. Even so, she knew the both of them could stay awake for another few days.

It was still preferable if they don't have to, though. She turned to the blond, about to ask him to switch first watch with her because she was _tired_ , mentally more than physically, but he spoke before she could.

"So... don't you think Falco was way more useful during that mission compared to Zamza?"

He got a punch to the face and went out like a light.

Well, that was that. It seemed like she'd have to do first watch anyway. Not wanting to waste her tea, she stole some from Colonello's thermos.

 **.:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:.**

Reviews!

RyuuSiren7: Indeed, this won't be the last time you'll see the fox. Glad you enjoyed their cameo, lol. This time, it's in their perspective! (or more like, Lal's perspective.) Same, I also like whenever fanfics involve the Momokyoukai in it, that's the reason I did it with my own. About the beta thing, at the moment I'm not looking for one, but when I do I'll be sure to hit you up. Thank you for the offer! And for reading my fic!

Guest (6), Fairytail.523, duskrider, I didn'tdoityoucan'tproveit, GajeelIronSteel: Thank you!

Shia: Glad you like it! Now you know where the tiny friend went. And yeah, I certainly took my time with this one, lmao.

mokona-pyuh: Appreciated! And thank you for reviewing. Review always make my day.

Bell2629: He truly is, isn't he? Unfortunately, little Naki can't join. Yet. We'll see what happens in the future.

bloodshound: He really will. But at the same time they won't regret it. Probably.

Ecarlates: Well, at this point they're still honorary members. In the future? I have things planned, so wait and see. The mothers are super Chill ™ while Tatsuya is somewhat the only sane man around. Thank you for telling me your opinion on this story! Reviews never fail to make me smile.

That's a wrap! Remember to leave a review on your way out! See you next time, hopefully within this lifetime lmao.


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